My last post at this blog address

I want to bid a fond farewell to this blogspace. I am still in blog land, but am making a move. I have news about my spinning, the shop and other exciting tidbits over at the new location. Please come over and say hello! See you soon!

Etsy and more official news

I have officially opened my etsy shop!!!!!!!! So far, I just have my hand dyed yarns listed, but I have some fiber batts ready to go up there as well. I just got my new digital scale today so I can accurately advertise these now. Hooray! Please stop by and let me know what you think! Isn't it exciting?! I would also like to make another "official" move and announce to the world that my Marm and I are opening a yarn/spinning/knitting shop in late April/early May. We are so thrilled to have this opportunity and since we both have a blog, we want to write about store stuff too. We have decided to merge the three into one big coop blog for her, for me, and for shop goodies! I will post here a few more times, since we are still getting the new blog up and running, but I will eventually be moving to this new address. Thanks to all of my faithful readers, and I hope you will join me over there. It can only be even more fun with my mom contributing as well! :) Hope to see you there, please join us on this adventure! P. S. How do you folks out there in blog land pronounce etsy by the way? I have heard it etsy and I have heard it eetsy...just curious! :)

Drum carders and fiber blending

I am sorry that I have been unable to post for a while. Our internet decided to go on vacation for a few days, but I think we have it back now :) Here's what I did this weekend! We have been working on our craft room, more details over at my mom's blog. So, we now have all this space specifically designed for creativity and fiber-y fun! I broke out the drum carder and decided to blend some roving that I got for Christmas. It started out like this, but I wanted more blended color rather than sections of color.

I pulled the colors apart and pre-carded them on their own-
(By the way, the colors below are true to the way they really look, more so than above)

I took these and split them all up, making little groups of one of each color


I put them on the drum carder like this-


After one layer of the colors in this order, I added another layer of colors laid out in a different order. I pulled it off the carder, pulled into more of a roving and here it is!


I wanted a lot of color definition so I only put it through the carder once. I am so excited about how it turned out, I can't wait to spin it all up! I will be posting a knitting update, turning the heels on my socks and my cardigan! I am on the left front...moving right along! :)

Dyeing self striping yarn and other adventures

As I mentioned in my previous post, I wanted to dye some self striping yarn to knit myself up a pair of socks. I am at a stopping point and can now share my progress with you! I started out by making a gigantic skein, dyeing the yarn, and then re-skeining this huge skein to wind onto the ball winder. Here is my yarn, freshly dried and waiting to be put into a ball and knitted with.


And here is this same skein on my very professional skein winder that made this skein the exact dimensions I was looking for. Exciting, huh? As you can see, one of the stripes will be a mottled blue and white...my Marm's idea :) Brilliant!

Now, I split up the skein into two equal balls, found the same point on both of them This is to get a result of socks that will stripe at exactly the same points...this is very important to me! By no means do I look down on you folks who like mismatched stripes, (on the contrary, I envy you your freedom, LOL) or knit one sock at a time! I only know what I like for my socks, and I do it ;) I also have found that I enjoy knitting toe-up, so that's what I do. I have fallen in love with the Turkish cast on method (tutorial here) because it's SO easy, makes an incredibly seamless toe-up cast on, and looks great to me! Here's what my socks are looking like after the toe increases are all completed.


I love, love, love how this yarn turned out and how the stripes are forming! The colors in the above picture are exactly how they look in the yarn (at least on my laptop). I decided on a simple 2x2 ribbed pattern for this pair. I love the simplistic beauty of ribbed socks, and they hug your foot so nicely! I just realized something- Congratulations are in order! I am knitting something for myself!

Ok, here's the back-

And the front-

So, onto the other adventures. I have been dyeing some fiber lately and wanted to try blending! I started out with about 1 ounce each of pink, teal, blue, white, and a grape color. This is what I got! The colors look pretty well blended, but they spun up very distinctly. My Marm spun it up, knitted a sample, so look for that upcoming bit of loveliness on her blog soon!


Ok, now this is not totally off the topic of knitting (these would show off some hand-knitted socks beautifully!), but I saw these and had to add them to my mental "buy as soon as possible" list :) Aren't they to die for? They're Keens and their shoes are one of my weaknesses. *sigh* I have had a pair of their tennis shoe type shoes all year last year and they have become a staple in my wardrobe. These shoes are addicting!

Turkish cast on tutorial

This was the only video tutorial I could find of this cast on method...There is also a step by step tutorial with great pictures over at Debi's blog.

Which Austen Heroine Are You?

You Are...Elinor Dashwood!

You are Elinor Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility! You are practical, circumspect, and discreet. Though you are tremendously sensible and allow your head to rule, you have a deep, emotional side that few people often see. Take the quiz!

Noro Silk Garden Scarf

I finally finished my scarf, here are the details:

Pattern: Free Noro Silk Garden Scarf
Yarn: Evening Forest hand dyed (I am not sure which store, my Marm got it for me from Etsy), fingering weight...I made mine 7 feet long, it took about 475 yards to knit it to that length.
Needles: Size 1 circulars, Harmony from Knit Picks
Started: December 18, 2007
Finished: February 8, 2008 (keep in mind that I only worked on this at out weekly Barnes & Noble knitting group, so don't be dismayed...it's so easy!)

So I am very excited to have this scarf done, but now I have to start something new for Tuesday nights at B&N! I am planning a pair of socks for myself, still unsure of the pattern. I do know that I want to hand dye the yarn and I have a very specific idea of how I want it to look. Keep an eye out for that, I want to get that done in the next day or two.

Speaking of dyeing, check out the newest addition to our hand dyed family!


Isn't she beautiful?! She's still waiting on a name...I haven't named any of my yarns so far, but that will change :) Have a great weekend everyone!

Things that I am totally in love with!

-This wonderful platter that my Marmee got me for Christmas. Isn't it so charming?! She and I saw it on our trip to Cincinnati, OH at one of my favorite shops, Ten Thousand Villages, and I fell completely in love. If you have never heard of Ten Thousand Villages, you have to try and find one near you. They have some very incredible, unique items for sale and it all directly benefits the craftsmen and artisans who created them. Everything is surprisingly reasonably priced too! Their "employees" are all volunteer and, not only do you find something you can't live without (every time you visit, I might add, lol), you feel great about supporting them. Here's what they have to say at their website:

Since 1946 Ten Thousand Villages has supported the work of literally tens of thousands of artisans in over 30 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, making us one the largest fair trade organizations in North America. Working with more than 100 artisan groups, we purchase fine pieces from craftspeople with whom we have longstanding, nurturing relationships…helping to bring dignity to their lives.

Ten Thousand Villages is a founding member of the International Fair Trade Association, an organization that includes over 200 members in 55 countries, including many artisan groups in developing countries. We are part of a worldwide movement that is striving to improve the livelihood of disadvantaged people in developing countries through the expansion of fair trade.

-My "I love Mr. Darcy" sweatshirt. I got this for Christmas also, and it's so perfect! Of course, who doesn't love Mr. Darcy? He's tall, rich, and tragically misunderstood. The perfect gentleman... every thinking woman's hero :)

- Little needle felted animals. They are so irresistable! I am so enamored by them, I may have to learn how to needle felt just so I can start a collection of these adorable creatures! There are so many on Etsy, but I am drawn to this one and this one. They do sell kits, so I may give in to the temptation sometime soon...watch out world! :)

- My knitting bag. It's not intended to be a knitting bag, but it has 4 pockets inside and is so roomy that I can fit everything that I need in there. It's a Red Tango bag, and they have so many cute bags that it's hard to choose a favorite! I am warning you though, don't go look unless you are prepared to buy, lol. This one is real leather, and such a luxury. It's perfect! I never want to have anything else for my knitting as long as I live!








-My elephant painting...
My brother, Jared, got this for me as a gift a few years ago. I love it so much! It's an original, one-of-a-kind painting done by an african elephant name Jana. She lives at the Knoxville Zoo and participates in the painting program that is intended to give the elephants there an opportunity to do something creative that they can look forward to. Isn't it fascinating? You can buy their artwork here and the proceeds go toward the Elephant Program at the zoo.

-And last, but not least, My Bailey Marie.

Like The Sun- RyanDan

This is a group that Aubrey introduced me to, they call themselves RyanDan. They are identical twins, and their voices are great! Their style is similar to Josh Groban, sort of a classical/pop. I have really enjoyed their album...check it out!

You Made My Day!!!!

I am so happy to announce that, not only did I receive this award (many thanks to Jenny Girl and Angelika...I am so honored!!!), but that I get to turn around and give it to ten other people!! I have never gotten any kind of award for my blog and it's thrilling! The rules accompanying this award are:

“Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times.”

I have the happy duty to list 10 blogs that make me feel happy and warm and fuzzy inside :) These are in no particular order, by the way.

1. Marmee- Now, she insisted that I not include her in my award ceremony, but she deserves it and she's the reason for anything that I am...so in a way she has already (or should have already) gotten this award :)

2. Heather- She always has something wonderfully charming to say in her posts, her photography is inspiring...plus she's as crazy about classic literature as I am!

3. Jen- She has some pretty dyed yarns and some good tips about dyeing. Her knitting is splendiferous!

4. Amy- She has some scrumptious looking cooking posts, oh and she knits as well :)

5. Deb- She can do everything, this woman. It's overwhelming looking at all her handy work. I am so jealous!

6. Shannon- I am warning you before you check out her blog, you will drool over her many stash photos!

7. Laurie- She has a charming blog and some beautiful knitting! Check out her Noro socks!

8. Carolyn- You have to go see her beautiful mittens and gloves! This gal is a glove-knitting
wizard!

9. Suse- You have to go see the wonders that can be done with dyeing. Suse has a great tutorial on (having your kids help you) dyeing yarn using food coloring!

10. Eren- Her blog is full of beauty...photographs, classic looking sewing projects and other wonderful goodies!

Well, there you have it! I have seen so many great blogs, it's hard to only choose 10! Thanks to everyone who makes my blogland existence worthwhile! You know who you are even if you aren't listed here. Keep it up! :)

Dyeing 8 skeins!

I have had a busy dyeing day today! I have set a new record for myself at 8 skeins in one day :) These are all 60% bamboo/30% merino/10% nylon. The only drawback to this whole process is the drying! I can't wait to see what they all look like dry and put on the niddy-noddy into 1 yard skeins.


I have been trying a new technique, putting the yarn into a ball with the ball winder, then dyeing wedges of color...so far (after 2 attempts) it has been unsuccessful. The middle never takes the color, no matter what I try to do! The ironic thing is, after rewinding these 2 "failures" into skeins and overdyeing them...they are some of my favorite yarns! LOL Isn't that just the way?! These skeins that I did today were all done with dip dyeing rather than squirt bottle-ing. My wrist got really sore the other day after a couple of hours of the squirt bottles, so I went back to this method.

Now, for my knitting, I have been working tirelessly on my attempt at pieces with the cardigan I mentioned here. It's coming along nicely, only 9 more inches to go on the back...whew! I am thinking it might have been worth it to translate the pattern to circular. Oh well, next time I will :) Plus, I get the benefit of practice putting pieces together. Wish me luck!

My sister, Aubrey, is in Australia right now for 3 months...she will be back in early April and I am feeling her loss keenly. Fortunately, we get to talk almost every night. She is 16 hours ahead of me, so the timing is difficult to work out so that it's good for both of us to talk! Can't wait 'till you're home Aubrey!

Well, I have another post for tomorrow, so until then...Knit on!